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Illustration of mushrooms with roots reaching into soil full of disembodied human limbs above a nebula

"Mushroon" © 2026 by Romie Stott

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Mushroon: noun
a divine alien organism
with multiple cognitive centers
connected via transport filaments.

Mushroon: verb
to stay rooted in one place
more broadly, to favor
thought over action.

Mushroon: verb, sense 3
to link one’s mind
to the Mushroon
and achieve enlightenment.

Mushroon: etymology
the Mushroon were named
for superficial similarities
to mushrooms.

Mushroonism: noun
the emulation and worship
and fulfilment of the wishes
of the Mushroon.

Mushroon spore: noun
a righteous adherent
dedicated to the eradication
of non-believers.



Mary Soon Lee grew up in London, lives in Pittsburgh, and commits poetry. She is a Grand Master of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association and winner of the AnLab Readers' Award, Asimov's Readers' Award, Dwarf Stars Award, Elgin Award, Rhysling Award, and Utopia Award. An illustrated edition of her epic fantasy The Sign of the Dragon was published in 2025. Website: marysoonlee.com.
Current Issue
14 Jun 2026

this desire to mold something more than mere inert earth
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